Vanishing Point

S1 E6: There are monsters loose in the cosmos, giant black holes that devour matter and spit out high-speed jets of atoms. These monster black holes offer our best chance to study how the laws of physics operate under the most extreme circumstances. The challenge is that these black holes are buried in the hearts of galaxies. Hubble is the best tool we have for peering into these dense regions of space and showing us what’s really going on. In fact, we have our own monster black hole in the Milky Way. Still Life? – Hubble has revealed a universe of stirring beauty, one that seems tailor made to produce creatures that can view and enjoy it. Our understanding of star formation tells us that we are a species created by the stars. We are, in effect, pieces of the universe looking back at itself. The question is: are we the only ones doing this, have the laws of nature brought the right materials together in the right way to make other Earth-like planets, and foster other life and civilizations? This is still an open question, but Hubble is paving the way to our discovery of new planets, and setting the stage for one of the biggest discoveries in astronomy expected in the next generation, namely, the discovery of other planets like Earth.